Nina Marks signed the closing papers on her first home on Thursday.
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Financial security, investment, tax benefits, pride of ownership.
There are myriad reasons to own your own home.
Williamstown's newest homeowner can add one more to the list.
"I want to have chickens," Nina Marks said on Thursday.
Thanks in part to a new initiative of the town's Affordable Housing Trust, Marks can start building up equity and gathering up eggs.
Marks is the first beneficiary of a Mortgage Assistance Program developed by the housing trust last year.
In December, she was awarded $15,000, the maximum allowed by the grant, which is available to help first-time homebuyers and homebuyers displaced by job loss who are looking to buy a home in the Village Beautiful.
On Thursday, Marks signed the closing papers on her first home, which she purchased through local real estate agency Burnham Gold and with a loan from MountainOne Financial.
Her realtor and representatives from the bank accompanied Marks and Affordable Housing Trust Chairman Thomas Sheldon in a news conference on Thursday at Town Hall to trumpet the success of fledgling program.
"This occasion is made more special for me because we have the perfect recipient for the first Mortgage Assistance Program grant," Sheldon said.
Burnham Gold agent Vivienne Jaffe, who also serves on the town's Affordable Housing Committee, agreed.
"I knew Nina would be the poster child for this program," Jaffe said. "She's perfect in so many ways."
Marks said she grew up in South County but since 2004 has lived in Williamstown, where her mother resides. Nina Marks is the mother of one and is glad to be putting down deeper roots in the community.
"I have been looking [for a house] for several years," she said. "This is a very good program they've developed to help moderate income families.
"You can work far from Williamstown and still own a home here. It's a wonderful place to live with a great school system.
"I have a lot to be thankful for today."
Grantees must qualify for a mortgage at a lending institution with an office in town and earn at or below the area median income. Grants can used for a number of purposes, including to help with closing costs and the downpayment.
Mary O'Connell of Mountain One, who helped the trust draft the program, said this week alone, she has received inquiries from 10 potential homebuyers, several of whom she thought might qualify under the program.
Jaffe and Century 21's Matthew Chow, the seller's agent in Thursday's transaction, agreed that the town's inventory of starter homes ideal for the program is not large. But they said the program could help spur the market.
"With the availability of funding, people may begin buying a house and rehabbing it to make it available to first-time homebuyers," Chow said. "Houses that need a facelift would be prime candidates."
"There are fairly few houses in Williamstown right now for under, say, $200,000," Jaffe said. "But I agree with Matt that investors might step up."
The grant also might create a market the starter homes for those looking to trade up but unable to sell their first home, Jaffe said.
"We're humbled and honored to be a part of the process and have the house that Nina picked," Chow said. "We're excited about new homebuyers coming into the marketplace."
MountainOne President and CEO Robert Fraser also was excited to be part of the process that made Nina Marks a homeowner and chicken owner.
"Think about the Mortgage Assistance Program is it makes sense," Fraser said. "It supports first-time homebuyers and supports economic diversity. … Mountain One is very pleased to be the first bank in town to be a part of this program."
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Nina Marks signed the closing papers on her first home on Thursday.
